Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a writer, astronomer, dancer, cosplayer, and more. I love the balance of science and creative expression in my life. I have drafted nine books for my New Dawn series, and am currently going through the exercise of professionally editing and publishing the entire series. My first book, The Disappeared, came out in September 2017, and by September 2018, I anticipate having the first six out.
While doing astronomy, I traveled to telescopes in Hawaii, Arizona, Texas, and as far as La Serena, Chile, hunting for black holes in the galaxy. After successfully avoiding winter for ten years, I returned to Maryland, and I work on weather satellites for NOAA. When not writing, I can be found at the community theater, acting, choreographing, directing, stage managing, and generally having a great time. When I needed to escape the science, I lived briefly L.A., fulfilling my childhood dream of being an out of work actress. I managed to get a few IMDB credits to my name, though none are for acting.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
The New Dawn series began when I was sitting at work, waiting for a code to run. When I was an undergrad, I got a job as a research assistant, because there was no way I was going to grad school to become a full time scientist if I couldn’t handle doing it ten hours a week. My boss had a picture in his office – a satellite composite of North America at night – just the city glow. That picture was next to my computer and I looked at it every day as my programs were processing data. One day, I opened a text file and started to write a story about someone on the moon, looking down at the Earth, seeing that view that the picture captured. And that’s where it all began. When I graduated, my boss gave me a copy of that picture, and it still hangs over my desk.
Now, I work on weather satellites for NOAA, and I’m part of the pipeline that produces pictures like that operationally, so that we can predict the weather. It’s pretty neat to experience that picture from the production side.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I write constantly. I have been known to get up in the middle of the night, go to my whiteboard, and scribble down an idea (in the dark, just going by feel). Then I go back to bed without having disturbed my sleepiness with light. In the morning, when I come out of my room, I see the words written there. I find this works better than writing on a scrap of paper, because I don’t have to remember to look for said scrap of paper. The whiteboard puts the note in my face over and over until I have time to sit down and address it.
When I was little, before I could write, I would imagine myself into whatever cartoon I was watching during the commercial break – kind of like writing fanfic in my head. This is how I watch TV to this day. As soon as a commercial comes on, I’m writing in my head. TV has always been a great creative fuel for me. Netflix really messes with my rhythm in this regard.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I read Star Trek novels growing up. I loved that it was a series and I could know the crew and take adventures with people I was familiar with. (As an introvert, I have a hard time meeting new characters.) I always knew that I wanted to write a series.
I also enjoyed Hardy Boys as a kid, and I still go for a good murder mystery novel.
What are you working on now?
I just got Book 4: Ghost Dome ready to send to my editor and now I’m shoring up Book 5: The Gray Market so that it’s ready for my beta-readers. I find that the more I work with my team, the better I can anticipate criticisms. I definitely feel I’m improving as a writer.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Asking people who know better and have been in the field longer for help. I didn’t get into self-publishing because I thought I could do it all by myself. I did it, because I thought I had enough project management experience to find people who could help me.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
I have a sign in my office that says “I couldn’t wait for success, so I went ahead without it.”
It is very different being an author than being a writer. I’ve been a writer my entire life. When you’re a writer, you write the story, and you’re done. When you’re an author (and I’ve heard this from both self-published and traditionally published types), you write the story, then you have to promote the story, get the story in people’s hands, and keep coming back to the story over and over. Five years later, you’ve written five more books, but promoting the first is still part of your life. Maybe someone will hand you this golden opportunity and take the burden from you, maybe they won’t. Defining success is up to you. If you want to be an author, just keep pressing on.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Stop and smell the roses.
I take that literally. If I see a pretty flower, chances are I’ve tested its scent. Leaves also have interesting scents.
What are you reading now?
“Resonance” by A. J. Scudiere. It was free on Amazon, and I needed something to read on the treadmill. I like it so far – especially that it’s following so many academic characters and catching that life so well. Can’t wait to see how it goes.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Well, right now, I’m trying not to come up with any new ideas until I finish writing all the ones I’ve already started. It’s not really working. Last week, my writing/critique group spent ten minutes on a exercise, and I wrote Chapter 1 of an entirely new series that I can’t wait to develop.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
I think they’d all be empty notebooks, and I’d have a pen, and I’d write all the books while I was there.
But assuming I was allowed to take books in addition to the empty pages, they would be:
– Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams
– Human Brain by Rita Carter
– Invasion by Robin Cook
– Timeline by Michael Crichton
Author Websites and Profiles
Valerie J Mikles Website
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